Dietrich's Cousin
by AliasCWN
Summary: Follows No Debt Unpaid. (published 5/19) The Rat Patrol's take on what happened.


Dietrich's Cousin

By: AliasCWN

Hitch and Tully walked into the hospital to find Moffitt deep in conversation with Troy. Troy was finally feeling up to having visitors. It had been five days since the three of them had rescued their leader from the German base. They had arrived just in the nick of time too; the base commander was preparing to send the sergeant to the Gestapo for more interrogations. Troy had refused to answer any of his questions despite intense questioning.

Moffitt had come up with the scheme to rescue Troy with the enthusiastic support of the privates. He had dressed Hitch up in a German lieutenant's uniform and gone along with him as his aide. With Moffitt doing all of the talking they had been granted an audience with the base commander. Moffitt had timed it so that they arrived in his office just after Troy was taken in there. Once inside it had been a simple matter of overpowering the unsuspecting guards and freeing the prisoner. They had left the Germans bound and gagged while they escaped with Troy.

"Hey Sarge." Hitch smiled at Troy when the sergeant noticed their approach.

"Hey yourself." Troy answered gruffly. "Where have you two been?"

Hitch looked over at Tully and shrugged. "Around. You were sleeping and Doc was here with you. We decided to explore the base."

"I hope you're staying out of trouble."

"We are Sarge." Tully answered for both of them.

"Really? Then why the guilty look?"

Hitch and Tully exchanged another mysterious look. "We were talking Sarge…" Hitch began.

"That can't be good." Moffitt smiled at his two friends.

Hitch glanced over at Tully before he began again. "We were just talking about the mission."

"The mission? What mission? Are you going out?" Troy looked at Moffitt for an explanation.

"I don't know anything about a new mission." The Brit replied with a shrug.

"This last one Sarge." Hitch explained.

"Who were you talking to?" Troy asked.

"No one Sarge, just us." Hitch hurried to clarify. "Tully and I were talking."

"Okay." Troy nodded. "So what did you decide?"

"Decide?"

"Yes, decide." Troy repeated. "You must have decided on something."

Hitch looked at Tully in confusion.

Tully shrugged. "We weren't trying to decide on anything. We were just talking."

Troy ducked his head and smiled to himself. "Okay, what did you say?"

"Say, Sarge?"

"Are you going to keep repeating everything I say or are you going to tell me what's on your mind?" Troy grinned.

"Oh." Hitch nodded. "Yeah, we wanted to talk to you about it."

"Okay, talk."

Hitch looked at Tully again.

"We saw a woman at that base that we both recognized." Tully blurted out.

"You did?" Troy sounded surprised. "One you both know? That could get awkward."

"Especially since she was on a German base." Moffitt added in a light tone.

"It wasn't like that Sarge." Hitch protested. "She wasn't someone either of us dated."

"Oh?"

"It was Dietrich's cousin." Tully added.

Troy's teasing tone fell away as he glanced over at Moffitt. "You saw her too?"

"Yeah Sarge, it was that woman we rescued from that Italian base." Hitch started to explain but stopped as he realized what Troy had said. "Wait. You know about her?"

"We saw her too." Moffitt admitted.

"I thought maybe I was imagining it." Troy continued. "I was seeing everything as a blur and I thought I was mistaken. She came into the commander's office with some officer. Only Moffitt said he saw her too."

"You saw her Doc?" Tully asked in surprise. "You sure didn't act like you recognized her."

"I was trying to stay calm and hope she didn't recognize us." Moffitt admitted. "That officer she was with didn't sound the alarm so I don't think she realized who we were."

"I'm not so sure." Tully disagreed.

"What do you mean Tully? What did you see?" Moffitt asked.

"I was up on that roof ready to cover you guys if you needed it when I saw her walk out with that officer. I recognized her right away. There was no way I could warn you without giving away our presence. I had my sights on that officer who was with her. If he had made a move to sound the alarm I was going to shoot him between the eyes. I figured I could get away while you guys rescued Sarge in all of the confusion."

"You didn't shoot him so I guess it's safe to assume that he didn't do anything threatening." Moffitt replied.

"No." Tully frowned. "It looked like the lady asked him to do something. He looked really concerned for her and he was holding her arm as they left."

"But you think she recognized us?" Moffitt persisted.

"Oh yeah." Tully nodded. "She was trying hard not to get caught looking but I saw her stiffen when she first saw you."

"Do you think she covered for us Doc?" Hitch asked.

"I can't say." Moffitt answered thoughtfully. "I suppose it is possible. What exactly did they do after they passed us on the street?"

"After she saw you she took his arm and turned him away from you. Then she said something and put her hand up to her head. He leaned in really close and she nodded. I thought she gave you away then but he just got this worried look on his face and he held her close. Then they walked away with him supporting her. He seemed focused on her and nothing else. Neither of them looked back while I was watching."

"She is Dietrich's cousin." Troy stated.

"We know." Hitch answered. "That's why we were surprised that she didn't sound the alarm. Dietrich would love to get rid of us."

"Yeah but he's always been an honorable man. Maybe she's like him. Maybe she felt like she owed us something." Troy suggested. "Dietrich did thank us for helping her and he even bought us a drink. Moffitt and I were just discussing it when you two walked in."

"So you think she covered for us." Tully stated.

"From what you told us it sure seems that way." Troy admitted.

"That doesn't make sense." Hitch argued. "Dietrich must have told her who we are. I mean, it only makes sense that they would have talked on their way back to his base and he would have told her how much trouble we cause him. You would think she would have turned us in just to help him get rid of us if nothing else."

"She apparently didn't say anything about me." Troy answered. "At least I don't remember them asking me anything about her or the incident on the Italian base."

"It's quite possible that she was repaying our kindness." Moffitt repeated Troy's earlier theory.

"But anyone would have helped her get away from that Italian base." Hitch argued. "No one would have left a woman there in that cell."

"I don't know if I'd go quite that far Hitch." Moffitt disagreed. "I'm sure that there are those out there who would have saved themselves and left her to her fate."

"No real man." Hitch asserted.

"No real gentleman." Moffitt corrected.

"So you do think she helped us on purpose?" Tully interrupted.

"It sure sounds like it." Troy agreed. "Apparently the lady likes to pay her debts."

"She didn't owe us anything." Hitch answered. "We didn't ask for anything in return."

"One doesn't always need to ask." Moffitt replied. "Perhaps she realized our need and chose to help."

"That wasn't why I helped her. I sure wasn't expecting anything in return." Hitch looked around at his friends. "I didn't think we wanted anything from her."

"We didn't." Troy answered. "You're right. None of us were expecting anything in return, but it looks like we got it anyway. I think we should just be grateful to the lady and forget it. The fewer people who know about it the better."

"I don't think she even told that officer she was with and it looked like they were pretty close." Tully drawled.

"Her husband perhaps." Moffitt suggested. "I seem to recall her telling us the last time that she was traveling with her husband until he got called back to Berlin. That seems to imply that he was either a high ranking officer or connected to one."

"What will happen to her if they find out?" Hitch asked worriedly.

"Find out what?"

"That she helped us?"

"I'm sure Dietrich warned her about that." Troy answered. "He seems to walk that line pretty well himself. Maybe that's why she kept her husband in the dark. Either he wouldn't go along with her or she's trying to protect him in case she is discovered."

"But what would they do to her?" Hitch asked again.

"She might be considered a traitor." Moffitt guessed. "A lot would depend on how powerful her husband is and how much he would be willing to risk to protect her."

"She has Dietrich too." Tully added.

"But if he interferes his own secrets might come out." Moffitt suggested.

"I doubt that he'd let that stop him." Troy argued. "He'd protect her if he could, but he'd have to consider the rest of his family too."

"He'd find a way" Hitch replied confidently. "He reminds me a lot of you Sarge, and you'd find a way if she was your cousin."

"I'm glad she's not, I don't need that kind of headache." Troy replied. "I already have you two." He grinned at his privates.

"She'll be all right Hitch." Moffitt assured him. "If she's as smart as her cousin she kept our identities a secret when she reported her ordeal in the Italian base. As long as no one connects us to her she'll be safe."

"She must be a lot like Dietrich." The blond acknowledged with respect.

"They come from an honorable family." Moffitt answered. "Truth be told, there are probably a lot more of them out there. The Germans are an old culture; a culture that holds strong beliefs about right and wrong. Dietrich especially would have had those values drummed into him in the military schools he attended. Many of the hold cultures valued honor and bravery. Dietrich and his cousin have both."

"Enough about Dietrich." Troy announced as he looked around at the other patients. "Let's talk about something else. I'm bored. Tell me what you two have been up to, and don't try to hide anything, because I will find out."

Tully and Hitch looked at each other and smiled.

"Nothing Sarge, just hanging around."


End file.
